Initial claims for unemployment benefits in the United States fell more than expected to 529k, the Department of Labor reported on Wednesday. Continuing claims unexpectedly declined to 3.962 million for the week ending Nov. 15.
Initial jobless claims were forecast to fall to 535k for the week ending Nov. 22. Last week's figure, which reached a 16-year high, was revised up by 1k to 543k. The all-time high for initial jobless claims is 695k, which was reached in October 1982.
The four-week moving average for initial claims remain above the 500k threshold at 518k, up from 507k in the previous week, which was the highest recorded since 1982.
Continuing claims fell to 3.962, against expectations of a rise to 4.080 million. The previous week's figure was upwardly revised by 16k to 4.016 million.
Continuing claims have been above the 3 million mark for 28 consecutive weeks. The four-week moving average is now 3.929 million, up from the moving average of 3.868 million in the previous week. The all-time high for continuing claims is 4.713 million, recorded in November 1982.
Claims have recently been higher than normal following new rules introduced by the Department of Labor that made filing for unemployment benefits easier, as well as effects from recent hurricanes, although economists agree these effects are beginning to wear off.
Prior to the release, Deutsche Bank economist Joe LaVorgna said jobless claims are worth watching to gauge the decline of output. "The degree to which jobless claims rise over the course of the current quarter will provide us with a useful proxy for the magnitude of the contraction in output long before the first estimate of Q4 GDP is released at the end of January," he said, adding that it's unlikely jobless claims have peaked yet.
By Stephen Huebl and edited by Nancy Girgis
©CEP News Ltd. 2008